Cardinal Parolin Will Be in Baghdad, Iraq, for Christmas

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, will concelebrate Mass on Christmas Eve with the Cardinal Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Louis Raphael Sako, in the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Baghdad, Iraq, reported “Bagdadhope on December 18, 2018.

As announced in Arabic on the Chaldean Patriarch’s Website, Cardinal Parolin will be in Iraq from December 24-28.

Before the Mass with the Chaldean Patriarch, Cardinal Parolin will attend the rite of fire, which symbolizes the birth of Christ, at the Syriac Catholic Church of Notre Dame du Salut. In that church, in 2010, dozens of faithful and two priests were killed by a terrorist commando, which entered the building during the afternoon Mass.

Planned for the following day are visits of the Cardinal to places symbols of the Iraqi capital and to charitable organizations.

On December 26, the Vatican Secretary of State will go to Erbil, where he will meet with representatives of the government of the Autonomous Province of Iraqi Kurdistan, after which he will go to visit the Nineveh Plains.

Cardinal Parolin will celebrate Mass on December 28, with the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church, Ignatius Yousef III Yonan in the small town of Qaraqosh, before leaving for Rome.

I express my sorrow and closeness to the dear people of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, affected by Cyclone Idai. I entrust the many victims and their families to the mercy of God. #PrayForAfrica #cycloneIdai